The Story of Kora
by 666XxXDarkheartXxX666
Summary: Two old friends are reunited, but what starts out so peaceful, ends with much chaos and confusion. And Red XIII eats a live chicken!
1. Ch1 Breaking

(Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story except for Kora.)

Ch.1 uncovered secrets

"Kora" the stunned blond smuggled into the thick morning air. "You look so…different".

The two old friends starred back at each other.

"Oh, this is just…"the creature paused not wanting to admit to her true form "(exhale) this is me, the way I really look .Its always been there, I just never really noticed until…" The door downstairs swung open, shaking the sleeping seventh heaven from its quiet slumber.

"WHERE IS SHE" Vincent shouted as he quickly stormed into the large building.

"Where is that little devil's spawn" he said in a lower yet still enraged voice.

Cloud turned and stepped towards the stairs peering down into the darkness seeing only Vincent's blackish red outline. Behind him, Kora jumped up above his head and grabbed the ceiling with her foot long silver fingernail/talons.

"Who is he looking for?" Cloud asked just as Vincent was passing the staircase. Hearing this, he tore up the stairs and grabbed Cloud by his shoulders, shaking him feverishly.

"Where is she" He demanded. "Where is Kora?" Cloud lifted a shaky finger at the ceiling.

"I'm right here" Kora said as Vincent lifted his head. But before he had a chance to see her, she pounced onto him, forcing him to the ground. She slashed at his face leaving three long, bloody lines on his pale white skin. They fought like animals, throwing each other across the room constantly. Vincent tried to throw her away from him, but she had already sunken her long nails into the collar of his overcoat.

"UGH" Vincent grunted as he was pummeled to the floor again. But as he came rolling backwards, Kora's nails slipped out in an attempt to steady herself and Vincent kicked her off. She tumbled over, then dug her nails into the hard floor, just catching herself before she hit the wall.

"You fight like a girl" Vincent scowled.

"Well gee, maybe that's because I am one, Casano-duh"Kora mockingly scowled back.

"IR-IRIR-IR-SQUACK" A small rooster squealed as it ran between the two raving monsters.

"What was that?" Cloud asked as he tilted his head slightly and watched the bird zigzag frantically.

"A chicken?" Vincent answered questionably.

"A very scared rooster" Kora said, sure of her answer.

"Breakfast!"Red13 said as he pounced between the three curious creatures and onto the screaming fowl. He trapped the chicken in his big furry paws and then stuffed it in is mouth as fast as he could. The frantic screams of the rooster pieced through his thick cheeks, until he bit down with his powerful jaws, forcing the hideous shrieking to cease.

"What" Red said after he turned around to face his audience and started to pick the remaining pieces of chicken out of his teeth.

"That was interesting" smirked Vincent "now back to business."

"Speaking of business, why are you here" Kora questioned.

"Sephiroth asked me to deliver a very important message" Vincent answered.

"Then why did you barge in so furiously?"

"I wanted to fight you to make sure that you where ready, and also, I didn't want to tell you."

"I'll say," Kora smirked, half under her breath "Well then, let's hear it.

"I think we should go somewhere private, free of unwelcome ears" Vincent commented as he motioned down the hall. Kora nodded and followed him into the dark hallway. Cloud watched them turn into one of the unoccupied rooms.

After a few seconds Red broke the silence.

"That news must be something pretty important, and probably private for Sephiroth to ask Vincent to deliver the message personally, I've never seen Vincent deliver a message with such…"

The door to the room opened, and Kora stepped out holding her arms as if the room she was stepping into was freezing. She concentrated on the floor as she slowly made her way down the dark hallway, past Cloud and Red, and into her room.

"That screams emotionally scared" Cloud stepped towards the door and reached for the handle.

"No," Vincent quickly stopped him and put his hand on the boy's shoulder "She needs time to think."

Cloud quickly brushed it off.

"Don't touch me" He uttered the words with such disrespect that Vincent almost took his talons to Clouds back, but seeing that the notion was out of mindless concern, he let it slide. Cloud entered into the room cautiously with Vincent close behind. He slowly walked towards the black and silver ball that sat on the bed with excruciating motionlessness.

"I've never seen her like this," Cloud said as he brushed the black and silver streaks of hair out of Kora's face. "I've never seen her so confused, ever" Cloud sat down on the bed directly in front of her, and starred into the girl's quivering silver blue eyes. The tone in his voice got deeper and filled with anger.

"If something could change such a subtle, and well grounded girl, such as her, to such a broken and unsteady creature as the one who remains before us…oh, he'll pay." He got up and sped past Vincent who turned to him, stopping him before he got out of the room.

"Where are you going."

Cloud answered just before leaving the room. "I have a date with the protector of the earth, and it's not one I'm likely to miss."


	2. Ch2 Dragon Ki

Hey everybody, welcome to ch.2, the sequel to Breaking. Hope you like it (please review). (Disclaimer: I didn't create any of the characters in this story. I only created Kora, Ki, and Jezira.)

Ch. 2 Dragon Ki

"So you just let him go!" Kora screamed as frustration filled up in her head .Her eye's drilled into Vincent who now stood before her. He didn't flinch, despite her ferocious glare.

"Well, it's not like you gave directions to stop him before you toppled over on your bed, last night."

Kora knew what he said was entirely true, but she continued her fussing.

"Look," Vincent said, in a desperate attempt to calm her before she was seen by the children, "how about we talk about this over breakfast"

"No" she answered.

"No?" Vincent asked "What do you mean no?"

"I mean exactly what I said, no!" Kora said, raising her hands slightly towards the ceiling. "If we want to find Sephiroth before Cloud does, or even get there in time, we'd better leave now."

"Oh, Vincent, you know good and well that once she gets an idea into her head, there's no stopping her," Tifa stood in the doorway and continued. "Heck, sometimes she can even be as stubborn as you!"

"Hey!" Both Kora and Vincent yelped after realizing that Tifa's comment was slightly insulting. "I'm not stubborn, or anything else like him/her" They hollered, almost in a perfect chorus.

"Ok, you two" Tifa laughed. "If you're going to leave you should take some food, here." She swung a leather bag out from behind her. Vincent took it, and it sank down towards the floor as if it was heavier than he was expecting. He handed the bag to Kora and she hung it over her shoulder.

"Thanks, but how did you know?"

"Kora," Tifa answered "all of seventh heaven can hear you, it would be impossible not to know!"

"Oh," Kora said, hanging her head down. "Sorry."

"It's ok" Tifa said reassuring Kora, who raised her head up as their eyes met. "Hey, it woke everybody up faster than I ever could." Tifa continued, smiling slightly.

"Well," Kora said. "I guess I'd better get going." Tifa and Vincent followed her to the door.

"G'by." Vincent hollered as Kora made her way farther out before Seventh Heaven.

"Well aren't you going with her?" Tifa questioned as she turned to face Vincent who turned to her and just looked at her and raised his eyebrow.

"Ugh, go" Tifa commanded.

"Argh" Vincent complained as he chased after Kora, who just kept walking when he caught up with her.

Once they had walked out of the city ruins for a while, they saw a forest. After they had walked through the forest for about a mile or two, they found a small clearing. Kora walked into the clearing and set her bag on a rock. She reached into her bag and pulled out a map and a chain. On the chain was a blue crystal ball about the size of a marble, and around the blue ball was a metal frame that swirled and twisted around the top then whirled down the side of the ball and came to a downward point. Vincent recognized it immediately and reached up towards his neck and grasped the chain that hung around his neck.

"I guess since we'll be traveling together," Kora started towards Vincent with the chain firmly grasped and yet swinging limply below her pale white hand. "I guess that I should reveal Jezira to you."

Vincent just tipped his head slightly to one side and stared, in confusion and wonder, back at Kora.

Kora stood in the middle of the clearing and sucked in a good lung full of air. Then she tipped her head back slightly so that her face was toward the dark night sky above them, and opened her mouth, wide. Vincent stood in aw as a deep roar bellowed out from her expanded lungs. The crystal ball glowed furiously from within it's metal chambers. Then, out of the pitch black sky, a giant silver blue creature swooped down with such a powerful force that the wind from the creature's wings nearly knocked Vincent's firmly planted feet right off of the ground. Once the dust settled, Vincent inspected the new arrival. It was a young Dragon about 10 feet high. It's long silver fangs stuck out of its mouth and laid against it's silver blue scales. It was slender and bony, and every one of it's bones and muscles where outlined in shadow.

Vincent stepped closer in an innocent attempt to get a closer look (probably the most innocent thing that he's ever done), and the Dragon extended it's long neck, over Kora's shoulder, and towards him. Vincent yanked the chain off of his neck, this startled the Dragon and a jet of flames shot out of its flaring nostrils as it threw its head up, still keeping its watchful eye on Vincent, and roared so loud that it shook the land. Vincent jumped back at the sight of the flames and the sound of the fierce roar (smart man). But Kora seemed unaffected as she rubbed the side of the Dragons neck and buried her face in the soft, smooth, under scales.

"Her name is Jezira," Kora said as she turned to Vincent, while keeping one hand on Jezira's neck. "I hope I can trust you with this secret, Vincent, you do realize that if you tell anyone about her, I'll have to kill you and whoever you told."

"That's ok," Vincent replied, as he revealed his chain and swung it out in front of him. "I have a secret of my own." He said as he faced the sky and lifted the red crystal ball upwards. He whispered something in a different language and a blackish red figure descended towards the earth with exaggerated speed. The creature landed quite clumsily and immediately Kora knew that it was a young male Dragon. After it flailed around for a while and inspected its surroundings, it stopped and faced Kora and Jezira. Kora inspected the Dragon from afar.

It wasn't as slender or graceful as Jezira, in fact, it was quite bulky, nor was it as ling and thin as Jezira. It wore a black head stall that covered nearly it's entire fore head, and it had a black saddle that was embroidered with silver, and the girth strap split in two, one going around its lower neck, and the other, under its belly. The two straps where connected by a long black strip that went between its front legs.

Another difference between the Dragons was their legs. Jezira's legs where long, but all where nearly the same size, while the male Dragons front legs where almost two times smaller than it's back legs, which caused it to scrunch up its back legs, giving him a frog like look. And Jezira's nails where longer and sharper, and her fangs stuck out of her mouth a lot further, which made her look older than the other dragon.

"What's his name?" Kora asked after a long moment of silence.

"Ohm," Vincent said, nearly getting lost in thought. "You know, I don't believe I've ever named him."

"Really, wow?" Kora said, lifting her eyebrow in amazement.

Vincent shook his head. "Would you like to do the honors?"

"Sure." Kora said. She circled the Dragon twice, once going clockwise then counterclockwise, and then she stopped directly I front of the Dragon.

"Ki." Kora said.

"What?" Vincent asked stepping towards her.

"I name him Ki." Kora repeated.

"Ki." Vincent said in a low tone. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Kora answered. "If you have a problem with it, then you should change it, after all, it is your Dragon"

"No no, Ki is fine, I have to save my energy for setting up camp" Vincent said. "Ki it is."


	3. Ch3 The Northern Crater

Ch. 3 the Northern Crater

"Vincent," Kora's cold voice weaved its way up the side of the huge Oak tree as she shook it, leaves fumbling clumsily to the ground. "Vincent, wake up." She said as he stirred slightly.

"What, what do you want" He mumbled as he gazed down at the upside-down figure on the ground that had just dragged him, kicking and screaming, out of the comfort of his slumber.

"Get down, we have to get going." Kora answered as she descended noiselessly to the center of the clearing.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Vincent asked as he flipped down from his bat like position onto the solid earth now below him.

"No." Kora answered, plane and simply, as she secured a bag around Jezira's smooth, scaly neck. She unfastened her dragon stone from her neck and relocated it onto the sheath of her sword.

"You're awful energetic for not sleeping at all." Vincent pointed out as he mounted Ki, who shook off the morning frost as he woke, nearly shaking Vincent off as well.

"Amazing creatures do amazing things, Vincent," She answered, as she threw a powerful glare at him, which, if it where a hammer, could have knocked him right out of his saddle. "Of all people, I would expect you to know that." She finished just before taking off on Jezira, into the morning sky.

Vincent and Kora flew in silence for a long distance. Kora kept her eyes straight ahead while Vincent inspected Jezira's graceful movements from Ki's saddle. Jezira seemed to jump from cloud to cloud, like a blue ribbon in the wind. Her body twisted and curved as she coasted through the cool morning air. When they reached a cloudless sky, Jezira began flapping her silver blue wings. Kora took off her tight leather jacket and stuffed it into the bag that was tied around Jezira's neck, revealing dark red, scale covered, Dragon wings that stuck out from her back, though they where pulled tight against her body. She flexed her wings and stretched them out as wide as she could (which is over six feet long), and as Jezira flapped her wings, a surge of air to swept back over her back and smash against Kora's outstretched wings, forcing her backwards, right off Jezira's back, though she made no effort to stop from falling. She screeched in joy as she pulled her wings close to her body again.

"Kora!" Vincent screamed as she plummeted towards the earth in a paroles drop. He watched in horror as she fell closer and closer to death, head first. But then, just before her slender appearing body collided into the trees, she threw out her wings in one powerful movement and soared straight flat over the tree tops. Then, a couple feet away, she coasted straight up, right at Vincent and Ki. Ki panicked and pivoted left and right in a desperate attempt to escape the collision. Just when Vincent thought that she was going to run right into them, she slid right past, not one thing on her body touching them even though she was just inches away.

"What." She asked as she levitated next to Vincent. "You didn't think that I was going to die, did you?"

Vincent stared back at her, pondering what had just occurred. "Yes" He finally answered. "Yes, I did," He admitted. "But I didn't care." He said as the cold, dark, seriousness returned to his voice.

"Right," She agreed as she nodded her head slightly in disbelief. "Moving on." She said as she continued ahead of them with Jezira close behind.

"Huh," Vincent sighed as he watched the two girls take off, away from them. "It's going to be a long day, I'll tell ya that much." He whispered to his Dragon before he took off after them.

They flew for another 7 hours or so before stopping. But while Vincent and Ki flew in silence, clearly bored out of their remaining boyish minds, Kora and Jezira where busy flying and talking to each other with their minds. Their conversation went a little like this.

Jezira: So where is this place that I've been seeing in your memories?

Kora: You've been looking through my memories and I didn't even notice?

Jezira: Yes, but enough about that, answer my question.

Kora: Jezira, you have to be more specific, I have so many memories you'd have to describe what you saw.

Jezira: Ok, this should narrow it down. It's a big hole in the ground with a casket in it.

Kora: Oh, I know what you are talking about. You've been seeing the Northern Crater, that's where Vincent lives.

Jezira: Who's Vincent?

Kora: He's the guy who's tagging along, behind us.

Jezira: Oh, Him. Doesn't he realize that he is riding the most stupid Dragon in all of anywhere, I mean, I was poking around in his memories and...

Kora: Wait a second, you where probing in someone else's head… Someone you didn't even know?

Jezira: Yes, but hey, I don't exactly enjoy traveling with a complete stranger, it's not the most comfortable position. I just wanted to find out something about him.

Kora: Jezira, you could have found out enough about him just by looking at him. He's a stupid, male, dragon that couldn't be graceful to save his life, and he can't think very well at all.

You didn't need to read his mind to find that out. And I know that its weird traveling with a stranger, but he's stupid, he's a guy, and he's a dragon. What's there to worry about? If you're going to worry about anyone, you should be worried about his rider.

Jezira: Ok then, who's this "Vincent" guy? He seam's pretty weird to me.

Kora: Look, all you need to know is that I can take him, and, with help from you, it'd be no sweat. So don't worry about him, ok? Where almost there, follow me.

They flew almost straight down, through a small patch of clouds. But once they where past the clouds, Kora immediately saw Cloud's motorcycle and, louder than she even thought possible, she yelled back at Vincent, who, surprisingly, heard her.

"Hurry up" She screamed before landing and running for the building entrance.

"Stop!" She screamed as she pummeled through the door.

"Kora?" Cloud starred at the heaving creature that stood in the doorway.

Sephiroth starred with him, not even recognizing her. "Who are…?"

"Oh, cut the act, will you?" Kora interrupted him, with a slight tone of disgust ringing in her voice as she spoke.

"Excuse me?" Sephiroth asked in confusion.

Kora continued, the anger in her face not lightening even slightly. "I know your secret… Father!"


	4. Ch4 Family wars

Hey everybody, welcome to Ch.4, and for those who haven't read the other chapters, READ THEM! Enjoy, Ill make the best that I can. Oh, and one more thing, Razal Azalya Valentine IS NOT the original daughter of Sephiroth from FF7.Please R&R.

Ch.4 Family Wars

"So I'm related to this freak show?" Yazoo asked as he flailed his arms around in the cool afternoon air. Sephiroth watched his younger brother and his childish reaction as if it was expected, and remained sitting in his calm state of mind.

"Oh gee, thanks Yazoo, you know, you're not exactly a walk in the park, yourself." Kora shot back at him, along with a fierce glare.

"Hey, at least I don't have two big black things sticking out of my back." Yazoo sneered as he dodged both Sephiroth and Kora's glares.

"Aw, now you' done it." Kora growled as she pounced out of her seat and at Yazoo, who shrieked in terror.

"Ah, no please anything but the hair!" He screamed as she caught him in a head lock and started wrenching on his hair.

There was a knock at the door and Kadaj shot out of his seat, seizing the opportunity to escape his battling relatives.

"I'll get it!" He declared as he ran to the door. The door creaked open and a strange looking girl stood in the doorway.

"Azalya!" Kora shrieked as she let go of Yazoo and descended towards the other creature.

"Who's that?" Yazoo asked as he rubbed his head lightly.

"You two know each other?" Sephiroth asked as he stood.

"Yeah, we where best buddies when we where younger." Kora answered as she stared at the human/wolf thing that had just entered the room.

"Well, at least my daughters get along." Sephiroth sighed.

"What?" Everybody's heads turned in shock as they gazed in disbelief, mouths gaping, back at Sephiroth.

"Yes," he finally spoke, "Korashatara Jenova Valentine and Razal Azalya Valentine are, in fact, sisters."

"Aw, not another one!" Yazoo whined.

"You mean we're…" Kora's voice trailed off along with her stare as she looked down at the floor.

"One more thing," Sephiroth added, before whispering to himself, though everyone else could hear him. "I might as well get this over with." He sighed. "You aren't just two girls, you're not just two sisters, and though you're daughters of … well, me, there's still more to your existence than that."

"What are you talking about?" Razal asked, her wolf ears falling back against the top of her head (part of the reason why her and Kora's hair was always in their faces was because their ears where on the top of their heads). Sephiroth glanced at her as if to say 'If you'd let me finish, I'd tell you'.

"You are the grandchildren of Jenova,"

"No news." Kora interrupted. Sephiroth glanced at her then continued.

"And the only women that where born into the Valentine family since your grandmother." Sephiroth glanced around the room ready for interruptions. None came. "Because of this you where granted special gifts. You are protected by Jenova herself. You are the prophesied right and left hand of Jenova.Yin and Yang, evil and good." He motioned to Kora and then Razal.

"Ok." Kora blinked as she stared, shocked, back at her father.

"Well, gee Sephiroth, is there anything else that you need to tell us?" Razal shrieked.

"No actually, that pretty much covers it." Sephiroth answered and then paused to think and make sure. "Well, there are your jobs. They come with the whole destiny, right hand, left hand thing."

"Jobs?" Kora asked.

"Yes, but Jenova will explain all of that when we see her." Sephiroth nodded, then turned to face them in time to see their shocked expressions.

"Jenova?" Everyone but Sephiroth and Vincent asked in amazement.

"Yes, but that comes tomorrow." Sephiroth answered again. "For now, everyone should get some rest." Sephiroth hummed before turning around and entering into his own room.

Kora and Razal looked at each other before Kora finally summoned her voice. "Here we go again."


	5. Ch5 Shadow Rider

Ch.5 Shadow Rider

Hey everybody. Welcome to ch.5. Just in case you didn't know, this story takes place AFTER Cloud and Tifa break up. F.Y.I. Tifa thought that Cloud was dead. When Cloud came back, very much alive, he found Tifa with another man. And I'm sure you can guess how that turned out. (Disclaimer: I created Kora, Jezira, Ki, and Azalya was created by a friend of mine.) Hope you like it. Please R&R!

Cloud floated down the hall, stepping to the beat of an enchanting tune in which he found himself headed for and quite curious about. At the end of the tight hallway, he found a large room with wide, clear windows. He found the source of the beautiful music standing at one of these windows. To his surprise, it was Kora. She stood, staring out at the thin line of orange and red that spread across the horizon, held delicately between two thick bands of dark blue and green. The music seemed to pull him towards her. His feet seemed to have minds of their own as they shuffled across the light tan carpet. Soon he found himself next to Kora, in front of the gaping window.

"The rain falls in a heavenly chorus, doesn't it?" Kora asked, not taking her eyes off of the dark clouds that hung about the new morning sky. "It's as if the angels are trying to tell us something." She spoke happily, almost smiling.

"What do they say?" Cloud asked, barely noticing the rain pounding on the roof.

"They say…" Kora paused to think as she watched the raindrops wiggle their way down the window pane. "Beauty is as beauty does, if one cannot find beauty in the simple things, one will find themselves unable to live life to the fullest." Kora answered with gentle soothing words before she began to sing again. Cloud barely heard her as her voice began to trail off in his head. He soon found himself in a meadow, surrounded by blue bells. He felt like he was dreaming, but the details where so exact, he was confused. He stuck with the only friend he found in this strange place, himself.

He could hear singing. Because his mind had trailed off right as Kora had started to sing, he didn't know what he was hearing when his ears tapped in to a soft melody that weaved its way gently towards him, wrapping around him like a warm blanket. He picked his way through the dew sprinkled flowers and towards an empty spot in the sheet of blue, dotted with tiny spots of green, which seemed to contain the end of the line of music. As he approached the dark green patch of clover, he found a white silk gown that held a long, thin frame of a young woman. His eyes followed up the shiny silk, and to two slender hands that held a red rose, as he knelt. Curiosity lead his hands as he slid the rose from the woman's thin fingers. He noticed a crimson red drop hanging from a thorn on the rose. As it fell from the rose and to the grass below, the once red and green rose turned dark gray and fell to dust that blew off on a cool, gentle wind. The feeling of confusion returned to Cloud's consciousness. His eyes quickly move to the face of the young woman. To his surprise, he saw Kora. But there was something different about her. Her hair was black and quite wavy as it framed her light tan face. Her eyes opened revealing gentle aqua-blue eyes that almost perfectly matched his as they met. Her hand reached up and laid against his cold face as she gave him a loving look.

"Cloud? Cloud, can you hear me?" Kora whispered as she stared, concerned, back at his dumb-struck facial expression. The dreamy land quickly disintegrated, and he soon found himself at the window once again. He shook himself free of the strange daydream as he answered with the most sincere voice he could gather up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He stuttered.

"Good. You had me worried for a second there." Kora laughed.

'Worried?' Cloud thought quietly to himself. 'She was worried about me? But why would she care about me?' He asked as he stood by the window, watching Kora follow the raindrops down the window pane with her finger.

He stared clumsily, at the magnificent figure. 'She's like an angel.' He thought to himself. Then it hit him. Like a giant mallet, he realized she had done the imposable without even trying, or knowing. He felt the thick wall that bound his heart gently change into fluttering butterflies that filled his stomach. He felt something filling his heart like water in an overflowing cup, something that he swore not to, and never expected to feel again. He felt love. It rushed through his body like lightning in a thundering sky. He was in love with a demon. A demonic angel. He couldn't believe it. He wanted to jump up and down. He wanted to climb the tallest mountain, and swim the widest river. But most of all, he wanted to tell her. But he didn't know how. After all this time, he realized that he just might have forgotten how to love. But she had helped him remember. He was so confused, so lost. He had to think of some way to tell her.

The quiet sound of the front double door closing distracted Cloud from his thoughts.

"Kora? Kora!" Cloud glanced around before running towards the cold outside air that crept under the door, and forcing the thick, wood panel open. But what he saw next shocked him. A man with giant, feather covered wings sat upon a pitch black horse. The horse stood strong and tall, with knees locked and head held carefully and yet stiffly in an elegant curve. Dark red flames flickered up the beast's long, midnight black legs. Kora stood in her silver blue night gown about two feet from the angelic cowboy. She stood motionless while the gentle morning breeze brushed through the silk gown that hung loosely about her thin frame. The man briskly swung his right leg over to the left side of the black and silver saddle, then dropped to the ground on the left side of his horse. He ran his hand along the horse's dark neck as he walked around to the side on which Kora stood. When he came to the complete other side of the saddle, he stood directly in front of Kora. Kora looked up at the strange looking man, eyes quivering, as he removed his black sunglasses. They stood for an agonizing minute or two before anyone spoke or moved. The silence held Cloud on end, barely able to contain his strong will to run to Kora and protect her from this strange man. But then he spoke, and Cloud carefully listened, waiting for the stranger to say the wrong thing so that he would have a reason to attack him. He didn't know why he wanted to attack the man, or where this urge was coming from, but he longed to scare the man off, and this he was ever so sure of.


	6. Ch6 Secret Assassin

Hello again, and welcome to Ch. 6, past, present, future. In this chapter, a stranger from Kora's past comes forth, and just in time. I hope you liked my last chapters.

"Ezraelaeli." The stranger whispered as he gazed gently down at Kora.

"I haven't been called that in a very long time." Kora whispered back as she sunk into the man's dark brown eyes.

"It's been a while. Kora, do you…" He abruptly stopped as Kora threw her arms over the man's broad shoulders and around his neck. He lifted his arms and rested them on Kora's back, before he hugged her tight and buried his head in her silver hair.

Cloud lost himself in the moment. Anger and disappointment welled within him as he felt the spark of will to kill the stranger turn into an uncontrollable, roaring fire. But he somehow found the strength to stay in his hiding spot, and remain unnoticed. A black, Doberman looking dog trotted gracefully over to where Kora and the stranger where standing. The giant K9 lifted his head, and slipped it under the stranger's hand. The man let go of Kora, and faced the dog.

When Kora turned to face the dog and greet him, he playfully put his front paws on Kora's shoulders as she reached for his ears.

"Cerberus!" Kora yelped as the huge dog forced her to the ground. Her wings shot out in an attempt to steady herself as she fell back. The dog's right paw slipped on the silk of Kora's ground as she hit the floor. As Kora went to sit up, Cerberus's sharp claws pierced the thin, delicate membrane of her dark wing. A surging pain shot through Kora's right side. Her silver eyes flexed as the eyras gained a blood red coloring. She didn't cry. Instead, her mouth opened and produced a piercing shriek.

Cloud couldn't help himself. He threw the door open, and ran to where Kora lay. He grabbed the dog by the back of the neck, and forced him back. The stranger, who had been trying to help Kora, jumped to his feet and grabbed Cloud's spiky hair and threw him back as Cerberus twisted around to snap at Cloud's wrist. Cloud ate dirt as he pummeled into the ground. As Cloud got to his feet, Sephiroth, Vincent, and Razal ran outside. Sephiroth ran to Kora immediately, but Razal stopped at the stranger. Sephiroth grabbed Kora and lifted her as if to hug her. She wriggled furiously, and eventually got free of Sephiroth's imposable grip. With the pain and frustration clear on her face, Kora laid her hands, one over the other on the gapping wound. As she attempted to summon energy to heal herself, Sephiroth grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her to reconsider.

"You are too weak, right now. If you try to heal that kind of wound now, you will use up too much energy. You wouldn't even be able to get up." Sephiroth weaved the words into her frantic mind, as he attempted to calm her.

"You're right." Kora sighed as she clumsily stood.

---------------------

"Ow!"

"Silence, I'm almost done." Vincent hushed Kora as he gripped her wing tighter to keep her from escaping.

"There, done. That should do for a while." Vincent let her go and stood to watch her inspect the handy work. "Until that is completely healed, you should stay out of the sky." Kora flexed her wing and then turned to Sephiroth who, before she could begin, spoke. "If I catch you flying your going to get it, you hear me?" Sephiroth warned as he pointed a long, pale finger down at her.

"Yes, father." Kora whined, "When are we leaving for Jenova?" She asked as she glanced between Sephiroth and Vincent.

"Soon," Sephiroth answered.

"What happened to you?" Kadaj asked as he sleepily entered the room and walked towards the crowd that gathered around the chairs and couches in the center of the gigantic living room, while rubbing his eyes with one hand.

"Nothing, Kad." Kora rolled her eyes as she walked towards the staircase.

"Start packing up, we are leaving for Jenova as soon as possible, and I'd like that to be within the hour." Sephiroth raised his voice and gazed across the room, in order to address the whole room. As he spoke, nothing but his voice, and the sound of Kora's feet padding up the stairs was heard.

Kora walked slowly down the hallway with one hand running along the wall for balance. She listened to the creaking floor boards as she made her way towards her room. She felt a slight breeze, but ignored it. 'Someone probably just opened a door or something.' She convinced herself as she continued. She noticed something move outside the window, as she passed. As she turned her head to peer out the clear glass, a brown blur plummeted towards her. She screeched, and attempted to jump out of the way. The blur grew larger as it came closer. She couldn't move fast enough. The noise of breaking glass filled her ears. But before the cold bark smashed into her, a flash of black and white shot towards her, grabbing her, and then racing out of the way. She felt the glass shards falling on her fluttering, silver hair as she was pulled out of it's way. In what seemed like seconds, she found herself standing next to the angelic stranger, staring at a wreck of bark, wood, and glass that was sprawled across the hallway. She leaned back slightly before realizing what she was leaning against.

"What the…?"Kora whispered before running to the window to peer out of it. 'That figure. Someone is out there.' Kora thought as she tried to make sense of it all. A dark figure darted out of view of the window. 'A strange figure… running from the scene of a crime.' Just as Kora came to understand the strange figure's roll in the event which had just taken place, and not to mention almost killed Kora, she leaped out the window with nothing but 'catch, hurt, kill,' on her mind. But as soon as she had jumped, she found herself being pulled back through the window, and up against a wall.

"What did I tell you about flying?" Sephiroth yelled as Kora reached for her throbbing shoulder.

"I wasn't flying, I was… creatively jumping, that's all." Kora argued.

"I want none of it! You aren't supposed to fly AT ALL! You're gonna hurt yourself more than you already have. No flying." Sephiroth yelled as Kora stood, childishly glaring back at him.

"But dad!" Kora yelped, and then threw her hands to her mouth. "Did that just come out of my mouth?" Kora thought out loud.

"You, you called me dad." Sephiroth stood, completely shocked. Not in anger, but more in pleasant surprise.

"Well, I don't mean to ruin the moment, but the guilty party is escaping." The winged stranger pointed out the window at a shadowy figure darting towards the forest.

"Well then, we best go catch him, now shouldn't we?" Kora growled as she threw a glance at the dark figure.

"No, Kora." Sephiroth put a heavy hand on Kora's shoulder, "Something gives me the feeling we'll see them again."


	7. Ch7 Onward, all but normal

Welcome to ch.7. Hope you like it! (Disclaimer: I made Kora, Jezira, The Shadow Rider, Ki, Togaru, and Shadow.)

'I just find it strange that he shows up just in time to save you, and this early in the morning, right before we leave for Jenova. It just seems too coincidental. Personally, I think we should've left him behind.' Jezira complained as she swayed to and fro as the wind pushed past her, staying parallel with Kora as she jumped from tree branch to tree branch.

'Well, he did save my life and he seemed like he wanted to come along. Plus, do you remember who we're talking about, here? He's the prince of light, the king of Dawn. How bad can the guy be? After all, you do remember who he is to me?'

'Yes I remember. And exactly my point, he's the prince of light, and you're the princess of darkness! You two should be rivals! And you shouldn't even love anyone at all, anyway, none the less, him.'

'Oh, Jezira, you're just angry because you two don't get along. He's really nice, and sweet, and he seems not to mind saving me all the time. Plus, when he get's sick or hurt, he needs someone to be there for him.'

'Exactly, he's got something against Dragons! Who has something against Dragons but the enemy! If you want my advice, I think you should stay away from him.'

'Well, nobody asked for your opinion, and he just doesn't like Dragons because he's an angel and Dragons are usually messengers of Lucifer. And I like him so…' "Whaaaa!" Kora screamed as she lost her balance and footing, then came crashing through the trees. She crashed head first into the open, and right for the ground. Just as her face was inches from the forest floor, the stranger threw his hand out, and grabbed a hold of Kora's ankle. His arm stuck out stone still as she hung loosely below it. She looked up at him from her up side down position.

"You must be sick of doing that by now." She smiled lightly up at him.

"Not really." He answered as he lowered her slowly to the ground. He let go of her ankle as her hands flattened against the ground.

"Ok, that's it, your ridding something from now on." Sephiroth proclaimed as she came to an upright position.

"Fine." She smirked back as she turned around and whistled. Jezira rolled her eyes and grunted as she realized what Kora was doing. A white figure broke through the wall of bush that lined the path and slid to a halt as it approached Kora.

"Why can't you ride a chokobo like everyone else?" Sephiroth asked as Kora put her hand on the giant white tiger's back and the other on his neck.

"Because I'm not normal, I never was normal, and I never will be normal," She pointed out before half jumping, half pulling herself up onto the tiger's back.

"So deal with it." She settled herself on the giant tiger's back and grabbed a hold of the scuff of his neck. "On, Togaru, yah!" She screamed as the tiger turned toward the others. He pounced clear over them and disappeared down the path. The stranger took off after her, following close behind. They left the others in the dust as they eased down the path at fifty miles per hour, bare minimum. But Togaru quickly slid to a stop as they approached something they definitely weren't expecting.

"Oh, crud." The stranger commented as he came up next to the sideways Togaru.

"Now that's a road block, if I've ever seen one!" Kora added as they stared over the giant lake that lied in front of them, right in their way.

"Oh boy, here we go. Sephiroth, you'd better come see this!"


	8. CH8 The Blak Katt

"We're so screwed," Cloud screamed as he swung his arms in the air and paced back and forth along the shore of the river. "So very screwed!" He repeated again.

"Would you quit saying that, we're not screwed!" Kora screamed at him, finally growing weary and agitated of his useless remarks.

They stood at the shoreline of the biggest lake any of them had ever seen. It stretched so far in every direction that it appeared to have no end. Kadaj was leaning against a tree, muttering to himself.

"I hate water. Why water, why not an avalanche? An avalanche would have been better." He whined uselessly as he watched Kora pace back and forth, trying to come up with a way to get across. Sephiroth just stood with Vincent and waited.

They knew that she would come up with it eventually, and this was the perfect test. If she had learned anything when she was younger, it was how to convert her energy. This was an ancient trick of her mother's side of the family, and she held this gift just as well.

It was a repetitive gene that was carried by every woman in the whole Harkensphere family, which was her mother, and her mother, and her mother and so on. Every woman had a daughter first, and every daughter inherited this gift.

Kora thought as hard as she could.

_We can't swim across it because Kadaj and Razal would drown. We can't fly over it because_ _Kad is afraid of Jezira, and Sephiroth won't let me fly. We can't walk around it because it probably stretches to kingdom come. But…maybe…we can float across it…_

She smiled as she explained her plan to Jezira through her mind.

_Hm…_Jezira pondered for a minute before bowing her head and emitting a low growl of agreement.

_As you wish, little one. _

Kora sauntered over to Vincent, who had almost cracked a smile, and explained her plan. He nodded lightly with approval, and turned to Sephiroth who did the same. She turned, and floated up to the Shadow rider, who was watching her carefully. She explained her plan, and then waited.

"Hm…sounds good to me." He nodded and smiled slightly. Kadaj stood helplessly in the corner, by his brothers, and tried to figure out what she was saying to them.

Kora, Vincent, the Shadow Rider, Sephiroth and Jezira all lined up at the edge of the forest. It was dense with redwoods, so there was no possibility of wood shortage. In perfect harmony, they began breaking trees like twigs. When they had each broken at least ten, they began stripping them of their branches, and laying them in a pile. They cut the logs so that they fit together like puzzle pieces, and placed them together then secured them with rope and wooden stakes.

When their work was complete, they lifted the raft and placed it at the water's edge. At the movement of the logs, the ropes began to loosen. A shadow appeared in the trees. At it's presence, the stakes in the raft crumbled and as Kora stepped on it, the logs separated.

Almost like magic, the shadow rider rushed up behind her and caught her as she fell. She stood and regained balance before inspecting the raft and it's damage.

_Magic_

Kora thought as she knelt by the logs and inspected the dust of what was the stakes and rope.

Kora stood once more as the skies darkened and the clouds swirled and parted. Crows sounded around them as their black bodies rose from the trees and circled in the skies.

"Does she have to do that?" Kora asked as she glanced over at the Shadow rider. He simply nodded and gave the slightest trace of a smile before peering back up at the skies.

A black figure shot from the clouds and plummeted straight toward the earth. As the creature approached, its form became a little clearer. In seconds, it had landed and stood in a cloud of dust before them.

"You're late." The Shadow rider said as he inspected the creature.

"I'm fine thank you, and how are you?" A woman's voice sarcastically slithered from the dust. It was haunting and inhuman. "I was only fighting for our home city and the lives of our friends and family." The voice smirked. The dust cleared to show a tall, slender girl with black wings, light tan skin, electric greenish blue eyes and long, light blonde hair. She had black cat ears on the top of her head and a black cat tail. Her wings folded in behind her then turned to blackish blue dust that took the form of a crow as it drifted away from her. "It's just a little difficult to get away from." She finished before turning to him.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"Of course, did you miss me?" She responded.

"Every second of every day." He answered as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She slid her hands along his chest and up towards his neck. Kora turned and made a face as if she were going to upchuck as the two kissed.

"Who is that?" Kadaj asked as he came up next to Kora.

"The Blak Katt" Kora said as if she was announcing royalty. "She has every power ever imagined and so much more. She practically sits next if not above Jenova herself. She's every possible meaning of the words powerful, invincible,"

"Beautiful and so much more." The Shadow rider interrupted.

"Ugh, you two are going to make me hurl." Kora hissed.

"You can call me Katt." The Blak Katt purred over her shoulder.

"Me-yow!" Yazoo howled.

"Hey, paws off, Yahoo." The Shadow Rider growled.

"Now Fang, that's no way to treat new friends." Katt purred as she made a sour face at him.

"Houston, we have a name." Kadaj joked as he went over the name in his head.

Sephiroth stood silently in the corner, avoiding all possible opportunities for conversation as he stared out over the water.

"What is that sad excuse for a pile of sticks supposed to be?" Katt asked as she sauntered over to Kora's makeshift raft.

"That was supposed to be the raft that was going to get us across the lake."

Katt blankly stared at her, dumbfounded at her ignorance. "…you needed a raft to get across the lake?"

Kora glanced around, and then back at Katt. "Um…yes?"

Katt sighed. "Come on, quit living in the twelfth century, we have **magic** for that."

Kora began to get frustrated. "Well, we can't fly because some of us are afraid of heights, we can't swim because the silver haired freaks will sink, and we can't burrow underground because God knows something else will go wrong!" She swung her arms in the air, as all signs of frustration took over her body. "So please, oh overly intelligent one, inform us on how exactly us lower life forms are supposed to handle the situation."

Katt's wings flexed, her feathers turning to black daggers and back as her anger grew, then subsided to tolerable amounts. "Well, for starters," She whispered. "You can calm down, and stop talking to me like that before I **throw** you across this friggin' lake." She sighed and calmed down a bit. "Now, we'll float across the lake if it makes you happy, but I'll tell you something right now, we ain't floating across that lake on that disgraceful pile of sticks you like to refer to as a raft."

Katt pushed past Kora and up to the dismembered raft. She slowly moved her hand above it, and it began to glow green and brown. Before their very eyes, the pile of wood formed into a small boat. It was shaped like a canoe, but had small rivets on the bottom. Katt turned to the rest of the group.

"All right, everyone in…now." She held the boat steady as one by one they edged into the strange contraption, all except for Fang. Katt pushed off without him. Jezira waded into the water behind the boat. Katt stood at the back of the boat and moved her arms as if she were doing some sort of strange impersonation of a hula dancer. The water below the boat moved with the flowing motion of her arms and soon they were perfectly situated between the shorelines. Katt held the boat still as she turned to face Fang.

"You will now find out why he's called the Shadow rider." She commented as they made eye contact. Fang bent down close to his horse and dug his heels into the animal's side.

The horse's nostrils flared, and his eyes glowed red as his body morphed into a black mess of shadow. It seemed to leap across the shore until it came to the water's edge. It then flashed across the water, landing on the boat, jumped off, and landed on the opposite shore. Their jaws dropped as the horse and rider morphed back to their original state. Shadow danced along the shore anxiously, backing up, rearing and throwing his head as he went.

Just as Katt began to move the boat once more, a shot of what looked like grey lightning shot out of the trees and struck the wood craft. It rocked and swayed with the water as a large crack began to stretch across the bottom of the boat. Water poured in, licking ferociously at their ankles. Katt's eyes glowed Red as she lifted her arms into the air. The cracked boat lifted as well and soon, they where hovering above the water. She moved the boat to the shore, and then flew off towards the source of the magic that had cracked their boat. She was pissed by this point and her eyes glowed red as she flew over the forest with wings made of metal daggers. She disappeared into the trees, leaving the others clueless on the shore.

Not really knowing what to do, Kadaj and Yazoo sat down on the shore. Vincent sighed and leaned against a tree, cautiously watching the others. No one seemed to dare follow Katt, though Fang stood and watched the forest anxiously waiting to see Katt reappear out of the trees again.


End file.
